Frank Forde
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Rt Hon Frank Forde | |
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| In office 6 July 1945 – 13 July 1945 |
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| Preceded by | John Curtin |
| Succeeded by | Ben Chifley |
| Constituency | Capricornia (Queensland) |
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| Born | 18 July 1890 Mitchell, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 28 January 1983 (aged 92) |
| Political party | Labor |
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 1890 – 28 January 1983) was an Australian politician and the 15th Prime Minister of Australia.
Born at Mitchell, Queensland (where his father was a grazier), Forde was educated at Catholic schools and became a teacher. Settling in Rockhampton, he became active in the Labor Party and in workers' education groups.
In 1917 he was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as Labor MP for Rockhampton. In 1922 he resigned and was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for Capricornia.
Forde soon advanced in the Labor ranks. When Labor won the 1929 election, he became Assistant Minister for Trade and Customs in the Scullin government. In the last days of the government he became Minister for Trade and Customs. As one of the few senior Labor MPs to survive defeat at the 1931 election, Forde became Deputy Opposition Leader in 1932. He remains the only Federal Deputy Leader of the ALP to have come from Queensland. When Scullin retired in 1935, Forde contested the leadership ballot but was defeated by one vote by John Curtin, mainly because he had supported Scullin's economic policies.
Forde was a loyal deputy, and in 1941 when Labor returned to power he became Minister for the Army, a vital role in wartime. In 1945 Curtin died, and as Deputy Leader Forde was commissioned by the Governor-General as Prime Minister on 6 July. Again he contested the leadership with Ben Chifley and Norman Makin. Chifley won, and Forde left office on 13 July. Nevertheless he continued to carry out important political functions, as Deputy Prime Minister, and as Minister for Defence. In the latter role he was much criticised for the slowness with which Army personnel were being demobilised. As a result, he lost his seat at the 1946 election, though the Labor Party itself comfortably retained office.
Chifley appointed Forde High Commissioner to Canada, and he held this position until 1953. He returned to Australia and tried to re-enter Parliament at the 1954 election, but without success. In 1955 he returned to the Queensland state Parliament as MP for Flinders. (He is the only former Prime Minister, and the only Privy Councillor since Federation, to have served in a State Parliament.) However, in 1957 the Labor Party split resulted not only in Labor falling from power, but in Forde being defeated in his own electorate. Save for this blow, he would probably have become Labor leader in Queensland, given that Premier Vince Gair and most of Gair's followers had been expelled from the party.
Forde retired to Brisbane where he devoted himself to Catholic charity work. He died in 1983. His funeral was held on February 3, the same day that Bob Hawke was elected ALP leader. Indeed, it was at Forde's funeral that Senator John Button told then Labor leader Bill Hayden that he must step aside in favour of Hawke, which he did.
The shortest-serving Prime Minister in Australian history - his term of office lasted only a week - Forde was also the longest-lived Australian Prime Minister, living to the age of 92 years, 194 days. His feat in serving as Deputy Leader under three ALP Leaders (Scullin, Curtin and Chifley) was one that would not be repeated by anyone else until Jenny Macklin. The electoral Division of Forde and the Canberra suburb of Forde are named after him.
[edit] Family
Forde married Veronica (Vera) Catherine O’Reilly in 1925 and they had four children::
- Mary (b. 1928)
- Mercia (b. 1930)
- Clare (b. 1932)
- Francis Gerard Forde (1935-1966); married Leneen Kavanagh, later Governor of Queensland.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Frank Forde - Australia's Prime Ministers / National Archives of Australia
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Fenton |
Minister for Trade and Customs 1931 – 1932 |
Succeeded by Henry Somer Gullett |
| Preceded by Percy Spender |
Minister for the Army 1941 – 1946 |
Succeeded by Cyril Chambers |
| Preceded by Robert Menzies |
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia 1941 – 1946 |
Succeeded by H.V. Evatt |
| Preceded by John Curtin |
Prime Minister of Australia 1945 |
Succeeded by Ben Chifley |
| Minister for Defence 1945 – 1946 |
Succeeded by John Dedman |
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| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by William Higgs |
Member for Capricornia 1922 – 1946 |
Succeeded by Charles Davidson |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Edward Theodore |
Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party 1932 – 1946 |
Succeeded by H.V. Evatt |
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